Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanne Oster.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been the proprietor of Guitar Stop for 30 years. Guitar Stop® is a full service neighborhood music store: selling guitars, accessories & offering lessons and repairs. For three generations, my family has owned & operated a retail musical instrument store in Cambridge MA.
Guitar Stop® was originally started in 1962 by my father, Edward Oster. The original name for the store was Central Sales Company as his store sold a variety of items and was located in Central Square Cambridge. My father’s store was a secondhand shop where you could find almost anything. He had a large selection of used items: guitars, stereos, cameras, jewelry, and televisions.
My Dad loved having me, along with my two older brothers and two younger sisters, working with him at the store. He started bringing us with him when we were very small- not even tall enough to see over the counters. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to continue the tradition of running the store.
Once I graduated college, I returned to Cambridge to work full time with my Dad. Around this time, my father got sick with cancer and I started taking on more responsibilities at his store. Sadly, he lost his battle in September of 1986. I purchased the store from his estate with the intention of continuing the family business, but the landlord of my father’s store had other plans. Six months after my Dad passed, I received an eviction notice giving me only sixty days to vacate the building he had been in for the last 25 years!
After a lot of hectic scouting and planning, I found a location in Porter Square and started moving the business to its new home. From that time through today there have been many changes along the way. I refocused the store to concentrate on musical instruments, and changed the name of the store from Central Sales to Guitar Stop to better reflect our inventory. I started a strong lesson program with professional musicians offering individualized lessons 7 days a week. I shifted from selling used gear to new and we offer more in the way of repairs and set-ups than we used to. We also have a robust website and web presence along with our retail location.
The most important aspects of the business have remained; we are first and foremost a family run neighborhood music store. We have helped people pick out their first instrument and have been able to support and help them with accessories, repairs, lessons, and advice. We have students who have begun their musical training here, and have gone on to Berklee and professional music careers.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges I feel any business owner has to deal with is being aware of and responding to changes in customers’ needs and attitudes. A lot has changed since my Dad started the business in the 60’s. The Internet has been huge. Our customers use it as a research tool to check features and prices and availability of items before they even walk in the door. I developed my own website back in 1996. The website was actually the reason for changing the name of the store to Guitar Stop. I wanted a name that could be searched for easily, and reflected what we sold.
We have the big box stores to compete with, which hasn’t been as challenging as it sounds. Our prices are usually lower than big stores, and all our guitars come with the carrying case, and picks, included in the price. We stand behind everything we sell. Everyone who works here can do minor repairs, set-ups and adjustments on the spot if they are needed. I believe in fully representing the brands that I sell, which includes: Cordoba, Fender, Guild, Gretsch, and Washburn. The selection we offer of these brands is more complete than what may be found at the big box stores.
One of the biggest obstacles a family business faces is not having family to maintain it. I am lucky that my sister Annette, her son Alex and my brother Al have remained with the business. Annette is the Retail Manager & Lesson Program Coordinator, Alex teaches private music lessons, along with retail sales and service, and Al is the Service Manager.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Guitar Stop story. Tell us more about the business.
I am really excited and proud of our lesson program. The store offers individual lessons 7 days a week for $25.00 a half hour or $50 for a full hour lesson. The teachers are top musicians, who gear their teaching style to the student’s individual needs and goals. Catherine Capozzi was featured in Guitar World Magazine as one of the “Female Guitarists You Should Know”. She recently collaborated with Christina Goh (France) on a project, “Hors Format- Oversize” released on Plaza Mayor LTD out of London. Travis Pullman plays with Somerville Symphony Orkestar, and has been a fixture on the Cambridge/Somerville music scene. Eric Guadette specialized in classical guitar performance at the Boston Conservatory, and performs with the duo He + He. Alex Oster, my nephew, studied music in New York, is a great player, and a patient & encouraging teacher.
We have students beginning as young as 5 years old, all the way up to seniors in their 80’s. Along with guitar lessons we also teach Banjo, Mandolin, Ukulele and beginner piano. The store has recently added bi-annual recitals to our lesson program. The recitals are a great opportunity for students to set goals to work towards, and it allows parents and friends to see the students perform.
One of the most unique aspects of my store, although hopefully it is getting less rare, is that it is woman run. When I began, people assumed that it had to be a man to repair or adjust an instrument, or make decisions about ordering inventory, and running a business. Sometimes music stores expect customers & staff to have a certain rock star vibe. I have had customers talk about the trouble they’ve had at other stores having the staff take them seriously as a musician, or a customer because they didn’t have the right “look” to them. I think my store has a very welcoming feel to it. In my store, every customer receives help from my knowledgeable staff about the guitars, amps and accessories that we sell.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
My store is a Cambridge neighborhood business; we are part of the community here. I love getting to know the families in our neighborhood. I have some students and customers that I originally met when they were quite small, and now they are graduating college, or introducing me to their children. It is a nice feeling to know that my store has been part of their lives in such a positive way. Recently, we’ve had some older students who have started or returned to music very late in their life as therapy. It is very gratifying to be able to help people who have other life struggles find enjoyment with music. My father touched a lot of lives with his store. A great many Boston musicians remember him as someone that helped them find a way to get an instrument and create music despite financial or other problems they were facing. My store is continuing in that tradition, helping people create and enjoy music.
Pricing:
- 30 minute private Music Lesson $25
- 60 minute private Music Lesson $50
Contact Info:
- Address: 1760 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA
3 Blocks outside of Porter Square heading towards Harvard Square - Website: guitarstop.com
- Phone: 617 876-0687
- Email: guitarstop@hotmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/GuitarStop
- Twitter: twitter.com/GuitarStop
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/guitar-stop-cambridge
- Other: plus.google.com/+Guitarstop
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